Cerro Gordo/Bement sports co-op agreement getting closer
The Cerro Gordo/Bement sports cooperative committee reached a tentative agreement last Tuesday and will include the addition of middle sports to the contract if approved.
The committee comprised of the two districts’ high school principals, athletic directors and two school board members from each district, agreed Cerro Gordo be the administrative agent for all high school sports and Bement being in charge of middle school sports.
Cerro Gordo will host two-thirds of high school contests and Bement hosting a third, the current contract agreement. The teams will be the Broncos and wear Cerro Gordo’s school colors of navy blue and orange.
Bement would host two-thirds of middle school sports with Cerro Gordo hosting a third. They will be the Bulldogs and wear the district’s colors of purple and white.
The only exception will be all track practices and meets will take place at Cerro Gordo’s all-weather track and cross country will be held in Bement.
Teams that are in charge of sports would pay for all the costs including all coaching salaries in the agreement.
During the talks between the two schools, there were often times they became tense which led to both schools adding board members to the negotiating team to improve the communications process.
As enrollment at both schools continues to decline, close to 100 at Bement High School and 230 at Cerro Gordo High School, during the January 20 Cerro Gordo meeting board member Todd Henricks reminded the board they need the coop to compete, “The future is what it is and we need to negotiate a compromise agreement and maintain this because none of us can stand on our own.” Adding, “Otherwise neither school will compete…I know we are frustrated with this right now, a lot of people are, but we need to keep working.”
While no vote has taken place yet, the Bement board verbally endorsed the plan last week and providing Cerro Gordo will do the same at their meeting this week on January 17, then the formal agreement will be drafted and presented to each board for final approval.
